title: Effect of encapsulation on development of mouse pronuclear stage embryos in vitro.
abstract: Pronuclear stage embryos with intact (ZI), slit (ZS) or completely removed (ZF) zona pellucida were encapsulated with an artificial zona pellucida (AZP) made of 1.5% sodium alginate. Embryos were cultured in KSOM medium with or without protein and their development in vitro to the blastocyst stage was recorded. AZP significantly (P < 0.05) improved the development of embryos to the blastocyst stage regardless of the presence of the natural zona pellucida. The encapsulated embryos developed at a higher rate (P < 0.05) in the absence of protein as compared with non-encapsulated embryos. Furthermore, the cell contacts at the 4-cell stage were significantly improved (P < 0.05) with encapsulation. AZP improved (P < 0.05) the development of pronuclear stage embryos with a slit zona pellucida to morula and blastocyst stages as compared with ZS embryos. It is concluded that AZP improves the in vitro development of pronuclear stage embryos with intact or completely removed zona pellucida as well as micromanipulated embryos to the blastocyst stage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Elsheikh
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hishinuma
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Nour
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanagawa
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D011506:Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D015044:Zona Pellucida; D017388:Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003470:Culture Media; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D011506:Proteins; D020723:Glucuronic Acid